Means for varying the force of counterweights for hoisting skip-cars.



PATENTED OCT. 22., 1907.

A. B. BROWN.

SKIP CARS.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

THE mmms PETERS co., WAsnlNcrou. n c.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23, 1907.

MEANS FOR VARYING THE FORGE OF GOUNTBRWEIGHTS FOR HOISTING WITNESSES:QQW

No. 868,639. I PATENTED OCT. 22, 1907.

' A. E. BROWN. v MEANS FOR VARYING THE PORCE- OP OOUNTERWEIGHTS FORHOISTING SKIP CARS. APPLIUATION FILED FEB. 23, 1907.

4 .3 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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iV/TNESSES; INVENTOR. 2M @WM 67% BV CW M. 14%;.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFIOE.

ALEXANDER E. BROWN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE BROWN HOISTINGMACHINERY COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OI-Il'O.

MEANS FOR VARYING THE FORCE OF COUNTERWEIGHTS FOR HOISTING SKIP-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 23, 1907. $erial No. 358,911.

Patented Oct. 22, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownthat I, ALEXANDER E. BROWN, of Cleveland, in the county ofOuyahoga and State of Ohio, h ave invented anew and useful Means forVarying the Force of Oounterweights for Hoisting Skip-Cars; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings as a partof the specification, wherein the same parts in every instance are designated by the same letters.

My invention relates more particularly to the apparatus generallyemployed for bringing the materials with which a blast-furnace is to becharged from the stockhouse or source of supply, by skip-cars that arehoisted up an incline from the place of loading to the place ofdischarge at the furnace-top, and, to that special class of suchapparatus, wherein an automatic discharge or dump of the car is securedby reason of the forward truck (or set of wheels) ofthe car being so arranged that, when the car reaches the furnace top they will run off onan inwardly-curved track, of smaller gage than that on which the wheelsof the rear truck travel, while said rear wheels continue to ride up"and, at the same time, carry the rear of the car upwardly on theincline. and pivotally around the front axle, until the load is dumped.The location of the front trucks with respect to the center of gravityof the car-body, and the weight of the latter, are such, that, as soonas the load is discharged, as above described, and the hoisting-drum isunclutched, the car, by its own weight, will automatically right itself,regain the incline and be able to overhaul its hoist-rope and de scendfor another load. When however, as is very desirable, a counterweight isto be employed, to supplement the power-hoist. it is manifest that thiscan only occur, with advantage, when some contrivance is supplied thatshall matcrially reduce the pull of such counterweight on thehoisting-drum in order that such pull,

when added to the weight or back pull of the hoistrope shall not exceedthe downwardly tipping force of the car and thereby prevent the latterfrom regaining the incline.

The object of my present invention is to provide a red ucing contrivancefor a hoisting counterweight when used in the connection assumed, thatshall reduce or modify the normal force of such counterweight, graduallyand elastically, from the moment the load meets said curve until it isdischarged and righted itself, and, thereafter, shall gradually regainsaid normal while the car itself is regaining the incline for its returnjourney, and, all to such a degree as to enable said function to beaccomplished.

In the drawings Figure 1 is an elevation of a furnace with track-inclineand hoisting counterweight system in connection therewith. Fig. 2 is anenlarged view of the tower arrangement, broken, as viewed from the samepoint as in Fig. 1 when the main counterweight is near the top of thetower at the uppermost limit of its travel. Fig. 3 is a similar view asFig. 2 when the counterweight is at the lowest limit of its travel. Fig.4 is a similar view when conditions are the same as in Fig. 3 but from apoint ninety degrees from the point of view of that figure. Fig. 5 is asectional view, on the lines 1 y, of Fig. 3, Fig. 6 a like sectionalview on the lines a a; of Fig. 3, and, Fig. 7 is a plan view of Fig. 3.

F represents a furnace of the usual type provided with a distributinghopper h, through which a receiving hopper h below is supplied from timeto time.

1 indicates the incline that leads upward from the point at which theload is taken to a point above the furnace top. Said incline carries thecustomary lower and upper trackways, or rails on which the front andrear trucks or sets of wheels of the skip-car S, are supportedandtravel. The lower of said trackways curves inwardly toward the furnacenear the top as indicated by the dotted lines 0 in Fig. 1. A hoist-ropeH is connected with the car toward the rear of the same and is reevedaround a sheave located on the incline above the furnace and is thencecarried downward and fastened to a hoisting-drum D in the powerhouse Pbelow. Conveniently located with respect to said power-house is asuitable frame-work, or tower, T for the reception and operation of thecounterweight sys tem to be next explained.

S is a sheave mounted on the top of said tower around which is reeved asecondary hoist-rope I-I one end of which is wound around and affixed tothe hoisting-drum D reversely to the hoisting-rope H, and, the

other end, is carried downwardly in said tower T, to

and around a sheave S that is loosely mounted within the main orhoisting counterweight W within said tower. From thencethe rope Hextends upwardly in said tower to and around a third sheave S and fromthere down to the counterweight W to which it is finally fastened.

As shown, the tower T is made up of four upright angles L held togetherat top and bottom by the oppositely related batten-plates p p and p pand p, p

. and p", p*. respectively, and any intermediate lacing necessary, asdenoted in the drawings by the lines Z Z. At the middle points of theopposite transverse sides, or plates p p, are located guides G Gconsisting, in this instance, of upright tees that extend throughout thetower T (Figs. 6 and 7). At a point near the base of the tower T, and onthe opposite transverse sides of the same, as it is viewed in Fig. 3,are cross-pieces c and c securely fastened to and against the angles L,and, at predetermined distances above said last-named cross-pieces, arefurther cross-pieces c and c likewise fastened to said angles. Each pairof cross-pieces, (made up of c and c, and c and 0 respectively) carryinteriorly-projecting guide supports, or bracket-like parts, 9 g and g gfor upright tee-guides G G that extend upright between the same.Opposite to each tee-guide G is a corresponding upright tee-guide G eachfastened, at its lower end, to the plates p across said tower T, and. itits upper end, to cross-pieces c and 0 provided for the purpose.

On each side of the main counterweight W, and loosely mounted on itsaxle, are secondary sheaves S and S in planes parallel to said weight W,and, at a predetermined point or distance in said tower (correspondingsubstantially with the point the counterweight W will reach when thefront wheels of the car S begin their departure from the incline alongthe curved portion O of the track) are two sheaves S and S on oppositesides, respectively, of the sheave S and, in the sameplane therewith. Onopposite sides of the corresponding sheaves S and in the same plane withsaid sheave, are likewise located the two sheaves S and S Fastened tothe tower T, above the sheave S is a rope R that passes down and aroundthe score of the sheave S across said tower, to and upwardly around theopposite sheave S to a further sheave S above the sheave S and thencedownwardly, over said sheave S to a secondary counterweight W below thesame. In'like manner a second rope R is fastened to the tower T, abovethe sheave S and passes down and around the score of the same, acrosssaid tower, to and upwardly around its opposite sheave S above thesheave S to a further sheave S and thence, downwardly, over said sheaveS to another secondary counterweight W below the same.

With respect to the dimensions and proportionate weight of thecounterweight W, it is manifest that it must always be less than theskip-car S, as affected by the back-pull of the hoist-rope H, when saidcar is free to descend on its incline and such that the car shall not beretarded in its descent beyond the predetermined speed.

The counteriorce to be executed by the weights W and may, of course, beany amount desired that is less than the force it is to resist, and thebest results will depend upon and be in the proportion that suchweights, and their mode of operation, shall restrain and graduallyreduce the positive-pulling force of the weight W, from its maximum, asit engages the ropes R and R, to a predetermined minimum when theskip-car S has dumped its load, and the weight W has reached its lowestintended limit of travel. Said weight will then, of course,beyond thatdetermined for the same-exert no counter'action to the cars backwardtilt, and return to the incline, but, this being accomplished, theweight W will have regained its normal eiiect though exerted, as to thecars move ment', reversely to that upon the hoist.

It is evident that, at the moment of starting up the incline I, theskip-car S is in the pit at the foot of said incline and the hoist-ropeH unwound to its lull working length. Under such conditions thecounterweight rope H, being wound reversely on the drum D from the hoistrope H, will be wound in to its full working length and thecounterweight W, as represented in Fig. 2, will be at the extreme limitof its upward travel in the tower T.

The counterweights W and W will of course be at their lowest limit oftravel, with the ropes R and R, in consequence, extending in ahorizontal taut position between their respective sheaves S S, and S SAs now the skip-car S ascends the incline the counterweight W willdescend within the tower adding a full hoisting power against the loadedcar meanwhile until, as said skip encounters the curved track 0, and theweight to be hoisted is thereby gradually lessened, said W, in turn,will be gradually resisted by said subordinate counterweights W W as itsinks within the tower T and is finally neutralized and overcome at thevery moment that the car is emptied and begins its return movementtoward the main track. plain, that in all these movements there will beno resistance to the descent of the counterweight W at the moment itssheaves S and S first encounter the ropes R and B, when the latter arein the position above assumed, and that, at such moment, there Will bein consequence, no diminution of its lifting force; but, it is furtherevident that, as said sheaves descend in their engagement with saidropes, the resistance to them, according to well-known rules andcalculations,

will gradually increase from zero toward infinity, until an actualmaximum of resistance is reached which is determined in each case by thespecial movement allowed to the auxiliary counterweight W and W by thecondition of the structure, and that the lifting force of the maincounterweight W will consequently be gradually diminished until the carS has made its dump.

Although I have shown and described a special a1"- rangement of sheavesand secondary counterweights to accomplish the end desired, I do notmean to be limited to such special arrangement in the broader sense. Anyarrangement of ropes, pulleys and weights which the main counterweightshall encounterin gradual opposition at and from the moment the frontwheels of a skip-car diverged from the upward incline until it regainsthe same, should equally be construed as coming within the scope of myinvention. I

Having thus described my said invention, what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. A means for varying the force ofconnterweights for hoisting skilrcai's, consisting of one or more pulleyand weight systems, suitably located, in the path of said counterweight,to become in engagement with and resist the same, while said car isundergoing its dumping movements, substantially as shown and described.

2. A means for varying the force of counterweights for hoisting;skip-cars, consisting of one or more pulley and weight systems, suitablylocated in the path of said counterweight to be in opposite engagementwith the same while said car is resuming its normal position on theincline after dumping, substantially as shown and described.

3. A means for varying the force of counterweights for hoistingskip-cars, consisting of the combination, with said skip-car, of afurnace incline carrying a track for the rear wheels oi said car thatextends above the furnace top, and an intermediate track for the frontwheels thereof that curves inwardly toward said top, suitable powermechanism t'or hoistingsaid car on said incline, with a suitablecounterweight system to supplement said power mechanism in hoisting saidcar upwardly on said track, together with a secondary counterweightsystem, as described to gradually resist the hoisting force of saidfirst named system, and reduce the same to a predetermined minimum whensaid car is brought to its position for dumpint substantially as shownand described.

4. The combination with an incline, provided with a track [or the rearwheels of a skip-car, and an intermediate track for the front wheelsthereof that curves inwardly from the incline to the furnace top, of askip-car and a suitable countenveight arrangement for hoisting the same,together with a secondary system of pulleys and counterweights arrangedat a point in the travel of said hoisting counterweight to become and bein engagement therewith while said front wheels are on said intermediatetrack for and after the operation of dumping, substantially as shown anddescribed 5. The combination with an incline, provided with a track forthe rear wheels of a skip-car and an intermediate track for the frontwheels thereof, that curves inwardly from said incline toward thefurnace top, of a skip-car, and suitable power mechanism for hoistingthe same on said tracks, and a counterweight, suitably related to saidpower mechanism to supplement its hoisting force, the said counterweightbeing operatively located in a supporting tower or frame-work providedwith a system of sheaves or pulleys and Weights with the ropes thereofextending in tension between oppositely arranged sheave members of saidsystem across the path of travel of said hoisting counterweight inposition to become and be engaged and resisted thereby, when, in theoperation of hoisting and dumping said skip-car, its front Wheels are onsaid curve, substan tially as shown and described.

ALEXANDER E. BROWN.

